The much-anticipated underwater survival game, Subnautica 2, will officially arrive soon on May 14, but the announcement comes at the end of a long legal battle that may have left the CEO without a proper opportunity to review the game.
Court Gives Subnautica 2 CEO ‘Full Authority to Operate’, Avoiding Disco Elysium Situation
A Krafton executive reportedly used an AI chatbot to avoid paying a bonus.
In July 2025, the CEO of Unknown Worlds, Ted Gill, was fired by Krafton, along with managers Charlie Cleveland and Max McGuire, which led them to file a lawsuit against Krafton, claiming that they were trying to avoid their obligation to pay a bonus of 250 million dollars.
Subnautica 2 Early Access Officially Starts May 14th
Almost a year later, Ted Gill was reinstated as CEO of Unknown Worlds, but it appears that Krafton may have started distributing the early access announcement for Subnautica 2 before Gill could properly assess the state of the game.
Last month, it was announced that Subnautica 2 would launch early in May, but according to reports, Gill was not fully part of the decision.
Game File Reporter, Stephen Totilo, reported that Gill’s lawyers filed a lawsuit on March 19, saying that the announcement of the early access release window was unfair and “harms the game and sows more confusion among the Subnautica community.”
Despite the judge ordering Gill to be reinstated, and allowing him to launch Subnautica 2 whenever he chooses, Krafton reportedly began announcing the open access release window before Gill had a chance to review the game.
Last month it was announced that Subnautica 2 would be arriving early in May, but according to reports, Gill was not fully involved in the decision.
But with die-hard fans eagerly awaiting the release date, it seems that the turmoil is slowly dying down, as Gill has reportedly withdrawn his claim against Krafton who accused them of leaking the game’s ready-to-play test.
From the looks of it, Gill may have missed the opportunity to fully control when he will announce the release of the games, but at least we are on the right track, and luckily, early access will give Gill and the Unknown Worlds team a chance to get this ship back on track with the help of the Subnautica community.
Subnautica 2 early access will officially begin on May 14, and will be available on PC, and Xbox Series X|S.
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